Tickle
What it means
To cause light amusement, delight, or playful curiosity.
Reach for it when describing a gentle comic or imaginative effect rather than intense laughter
The illustrator's tiny runaway boot will tickle observant readers.
Words to choose between 6
| playful |
|
|---|---|
| everyday | |
| warm | |
| professional | |
| literary |
-
playful
crack up
Fits when something causes loud laughter in casual speech
Careful Crack up is far stronger and less gentle than tickle.
-
everyday
Fits when something provides straightforward light entertainment
Careful Amuse is broader and lacks tickle's playful suggestion of a small response.
-
warm
Fits when appealing character wins affection
Careful Charm can be quiet and graceful without being funny.
-
warm
Fits when pleasure is stronger and need not be comic
Careful Delight overstates a moment that merely raises a smile.
-
professional
Fits when holding an audience's interest is the intended result
Careful Entertainment may be gripping or dramatic rather than lightly amusing.
-
literary
tickle one's fancy
Fits when whimsical personal appeal is the exact idea
Careful The idiom is longer, old-fashioned, and shifts from amusement to preference.
Opposites 3
- bore
- sadden
- irritate
Common phrases 3
-
tickle the imagination
The unfinished doorway may tickle the imagination of young explorers.
-
tickle readers
The footnotes tickle readers without disrupting the argument.
-
tickle someone's funny bone
That solemn penguin will tickle someone's funny bone.
Word family 1
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated